Altered Trading Card Game Review

A few months ago, we wrote about Altered and how much we enjoyed the brief time we spent with the game at Asmodee Canada’s, Canada Plays event. My father-in-law and I knew that there was something really fun and different here, but with only two chances to play, and only using 2 of the potential 6 starter decks, we didn’t have enough time with it. Asmodee Canada sent over an Altered package which included a booster box of packs, 2 starter decks, and a playmat – to supplement this package from Asmodee, GamesReviews purchased an additional booster box as well as the other 4 starter decks. What do we think of Altered TCG? Let’s take a look!

In Altered, players will be using their own decks to move both a companion and a hero from opposite sides of a map towards each other. The first team to unite their companion and hero wins the game. Moving across the map requires players to have the most points in their respective hero or companion play area – they are separate – for one of three terrain types which for now I’ll call grass, mountains, or water.

Each turn begins with players grabbing two cards from their deck, and then optionally resourcing one card from their hand as mana. Mana is used to play cards, so resourcing each turn is probably never a bad idea. Then with those mana points, players can play cards to the Hero or Companion section of the game mat.

Altered uses a really cool system where cards played will, unless an ability stops this from happening – move from the play area into a reserve area. On future turns, cards can be played both from the reserved area, as well as the player’s hand. Cards can (mostly) only ever be played twice, so after moving from the reserve back into one of the two play areas, that card will be discarded at the end of the round. This is a really cool feature that makes Altered feel unique and different from other games I’ve played, which is key to setting yourself apart in the Trading Card Game space!

Each round plays out with player staking turns, where they can play one card using their available mana. Turns go back and forth until both players pass and the value of their grass, mountain, and water values are compared, allowing players to move up by a maximum of one time for their hero and their companion.

The unique factor here that sets Altered apart from other Trading Card Games is the desire to create something that isn’t inherently violent. Sure, Sabotaging your opponents cards is effectively as good as “killing” them, but it feels a bit different and more family friendly in our opinion. But that isn’t the unique feature of the game that kept us coming back. It was the use of the Reserve system. Each card in Altered has two cost value – a cost when playing from your hand, and a cost when playing from your Reserve. Often, the cost to play from the Reserve is cheaper, although this is not always the case.

What makes this mechanic so interesting is that you need to be aware of what cards your opponent has in their Reserve. You also need to be smart about the cards you add to your decks. See, Reserve cards can have special powers when played from Reserve, or can be discarded from Reserve to provide a bonus. Often in Altered you will run into a no-win situation where regardless of which card you play from your hand, you probably aren’t advancing your hero or companion. With this alternative zone to consider, it’s sometimes a good idea to play a card when you can afford it, even if it doesn’t help you win that duel – it could provide a really great Reserve benefit that now you can take advantage of on your next turn.

I also like the variety and ease of play for this game. Each deck consists of only one colour of cards, and while this makes building decks a bit harder – you need ALL the same colour to build a deck of 40 cards, which means you probably need more than 2 booster boxes to make a good deck – it makes understanding the ideas in Altered so much easier. There are decks that are all about permanent Landmark cards, decks that revolve around creating soldiers, decks that are good at sabotaging, and slow buildup decks. The wide variety makes each game of Altered feel great, and generally close. There are going to be decks that dominate in the competitive space, but casually, you always feel like you could win.

I also like the breakdown of the cards. Rarer cards are just better versions of common cards, with different artwork but more / better abilities. Perhaps a common card when played lets you draw a card from your deck, while the rare variant allows you to draw 2 cards from your deck. You are limited to the number of Rare and Unique cards you can include in your deck, so deciding which cards are best for you is a lot of fun.

Overall, I’m super impressed with Altered TCG, although part of me worries about the longevity of the game without a solid IP backing the experience. Don’t get me wrong, I think Altered is my favourite trading card game to play right now, and the Reserve system is a game changer. But I’m really worried that consumers are going to veer to IP driven experiences like Disney’s Lorcana or Star Wars Unlimited.

My one piece of advice as I close out this review – don’t sleep on Altered. Sure, it doesn’t have a super popular IP to build upon, but the gameplay is fantastic, the artwork is amazing, and the uniqueness of the experience is too great to pass on.